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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;JCro57, post: 3196793, member: 92083&quot;]Ok, take me, for example...</p><p><br /></p><p>I used to collect coins to complete a set - silver Ikes, war nickels, Franklin halves. However, I felt collecting in the traditional way was simply looking at the same coin with different dates and mint marks, and it didn&#039;t really excite me too much to show them off. And to be honest, unless you&#039;re a hardcore coin collector, most people really aren&#039;t that interested in what looks to be the same thing for 40-120 pieces. But errors, varieties, and counterfeits? Everyone loves looking at them that I show them to, including my 10th graders at the high school. They are already asking me if I&#039;m bringing in my collection again this year, and if I have any new ones. Each piece is essentially unique, and just their oddity and bizarre appearance draws people otherwise not interested into the hobby. But I wanted to learn a lot about them before I started collecting them. Plus I had to know is this error rare, common, or possibly even faked? What determines value? How can something missing features - or having greatly distorted features - be &quot;Mint State?&quot; What exactly is considered &quot;damage?&quot; How did it get to look like this???</p><p><br /></p><p>Most you know me as an error collector, with some varieties and counterfeits. I have been spending way more time studying how particular errors are made or could have been made, researching the history of certain series, asking and answering questions about why a compositional change occurred, and studying the minting process overall and how it has changed, which is key to move yourself more towards the &quot;Numismatist&quot; camp.</p><p><br /></p><p>I am also currently working on a book using my collection of high-grade mint state errors as a basis to explain such things to novices. Many of you have seen some of my pieces on here. I look at coins all the time - especially non-certified ones - and i have a much more solid grasp on what errors are, what they are not. I read every single day about such matters, and even learn from some of you. I have been corrected a few times - and even corrected you guys a few times. But I keep an open mind.</p><p><br /></p><p>Lastly, I do not sell my coins. I buy what I like because i understand what it is. I research a specific type, like &quot;wrong planchet/off-metal errors,&quot; post photos, ask questions, answer questions, read from the best, and use that as a basis to then educate others. I find that more enjoyable to me. I even help local dealers who ask me about possible raw errors to help identify the type(s) and if they were altered.</p><p><br /></p><p>I asked because i am wondering with what i just explained, am I now a Numismatist?[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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